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Published: September 2nd 2010
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Biking in the Kawartha Lakes near Balsam Lake Provincial Park
Location:Central Ontario, near Peterborough
Type: On Road (not a rails to trails)
Topography: mostly flat with a few non-threatening hills
Distance: Two trails each 20-25 km
Surface: mostly paved, some hard packed gravel
Benches: None
Toilets: One
Water: None
Signage: Road signs and directions below!
This blog will be of interest if you live in Central or Southern Ontario. The Kawartha Lakes have many trails but most are meant for hiking, mountain bikes or snowmobiles. For many years we have used
Balsam Lake Provincial Park as a base to bike along some beautiful and almost car free county roads. Balsam Lake Provincial Park is 7 km from Coboconk (or North of Lindsay and east of Orillia)
Both circle tours begin at the Park Store (which is actually outside the park!) To differentiate between the two, one will be called
CCR Tour - Cows & Cedar Rails and the other will be called the
Cemetery Tour! Cows & Cedar Rails
For the CCR Tour take
Park Drive at the Park Store (away from the lake.)
There is
a gradual climb and then you descend to
Kawartha County road 48. When you cross Kawartha County road 48, Park Drive becomes
County Road 41 and at the top of a short hill you will see a sign for
"Corson's". The only evidence of Corson's are a few homes along the road.
In about 5 kilometres you arrive at the crossroads in
BEXLEY (again only a few houses - no stores.)
Go straight through and stay on county road 41. You will see a horse track on your left and sometimes horses being trained. There are some cedar split rail fences ahead but the best are yet to come. The road makes a big right turn and down a gradual slope. Make sure to turn right on the first gravel road
(Bexley-Laxton township line) The gravel road is hard packed and can be ridden even with a street bike. There is a very scenic area at the top of the hill with more split cedar rail fences and sometimes a large herd of cows. Once the whole herd stampeded and tried to keep up with us (see the photo!) There is the opportunity to see cows/cattle in
at least 5 different fields. There are also many
split rail fences along this route.
Stay on this road until you get to the first paved road, which goes only to the right. It is called
French Settlement Road. Stop at the
deer feeding area and walk around the limestone bedrock with huge crevices that have been eroded by rain water.
Now comes the difficult part
You will go down a slope and the road ends at
Kawartha County road 48 and you turn right. This part of the road can be busy but fortunately, you only have to be on it for about 1/2 km before you make a left turn on to
North Bay Road. North Bay Road is a bit like riding in a subdivision. Lots of cottages/homes on the left and the right but no beach access. The road is flat and pleasant to bike along. There is little traffic and even fewer people!
Soon you arrive at the gates to the park (the road is blocked during park season, but you can get through with a bike) Finish off your ride with a swim at the park beach just ahead. Then
continue on this road until you reach the park store again. My estimate for this trip is approximately 22 kilometres and can be biked in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Cemetery Tour
The Cemetery Tour also starts at the
Park store. I call it the cemetery tour because you go by three rural cemeteries. At the Park Store take
Balsam Lake Drive. The most interesting part of this route, along the lake, are the stone fences built without mortar all along Balsam Lake Drive.
There is a small
parkette (no name) at the intersection of
Blanchard’s Road about 10 minutes from the Park Store. There is one picnic table, a porta potty and a small sandy beach. Great for cooling off.
About 8 km from the park you will come to
St John’s Anglican Church and Cemetery. A good place for a rest. The next good rest stop is 30-40 minutes away at another cemetery.
At the church make a left on
Kawartha County Road 48 for less than 100 metres and then turn right on to
Victoria Road. You will shortly arrive at the village of
Victoria Road (just a
few homes.) Next you will arrive at the second cemetery on the right. This is the largest of the three. Take the first road that goes to the right
(Doyle Road) Doyle Road is gravel but usually hard packed. It is okay with a hybrid bike but not recommended for a street bike. This road makes a few sweeping right and left turns and runs through some pretty wild country side. In the spring when conditions are right, black flies, mosquitos or deer flies might be trying to catch up to you! And sometimes a small section might be looded! Near the end of Doyle Road there will a small cemetery on the right
(Bexley Cemetery) This is a good place to stop for a rest and a snack.
About 200 metres from the cemetery, Doyle Road dead ends into
North Mountain Road. Turn right and in about 1 kilometre you will be in
Bexley (once again, a few homes and nothing else)
Turn right and this will put you on
County road 41. County Road 41 will take you right back to the
Park Store. The Cemetery Tour route is about the same length as
the Cedar Rail Tour taking about 1.5 hours. I estimate the distance as around 23 km.
Of course, you can do either trail in reverse order or combine parts of each.
If these two trails are too long or too hard here are two easy ones from the Park. 1) From the park store take Balsam Lake Drive to
St John’s Anglican Church and Cemetery. This route is paved, only one little hill and can be done in 20-30 minutes. It is scenic with the old dry stone walls and views of Balsam Lake. It can be done easily (one way) in 30 minutes.
2) From inside the park head for the
beach. When you arrive at the beach area keep going. There will be a gate at the end that you can walk around to get to
North Bay Drive. North Bay Drive follows the shoreline of Balsam Lake with homes and cottages on both sides. Continue until you reach highway 48 and then return. This route can also be done easily in 30 minutes (one way)
More photos below ......
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